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ABC/Donna SvennevikUnless you’ve been living under a rock, by now you know Mariah Carey is making a guest appearance on his smash Fox series Empire. While details about her role have been sparse, the show’s creator, Lee Daniels, is revealing how he plans to utilize the diva on the hit show.
“They are writing something specifically for her. I don’t know [if she’s playing herself] but she doesn’t want to. I sort of want her to because I want to have fun with her playing herself,” Daniels tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I torture her, so what other things can we do together creatively that we haven’t done? Her playing herself and almost making fun of herself could be fun. We’ll see.”
Despite Carey’s reputation of being late, Lee adds that he’s looking forward to working with her again.
“I don’t know her to be tardy. For me, she’s on time. I know that she’s notorious for it but I don’t know that side of her,” he says of Carey. “If we’re having dinner, she’s on time. If we’re having lunch, she’s on time. She doesn’t have breakfast. And if we’re on set, she’s on time. I’m so looking forward to her coming on Empire.”
The upcoming guest role will mark the fourth collaboration for Carey and Daniels, who have previously teamed on 2008’s Tennessee, 2009’s Precious, and 2013’s Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
Empire‘s second season premieres September 23 at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox.
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